Fall Hikes

Hiking the Central Coast in October is warm afternoons, dazzling sun, jean shorts and sunglasses, trails to yourself, sweaty climbs, dusty paths, leaves underfoot, intervals of cool shade, dogs with long tongues, occasional yellow trees, blue skied vistas, fog rolling in, parkas on the drive home and a sound night's sleep.  This October we visited Loch Lomond Recreation Area in Felton (the day before it closed for the winter) and the Cruikshank Trail south of Big Sur.

Below are some photos from our fall hikes:

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I think the hiking is one of my favorite parts about living here. The weather is almost always perfectly suited for it. And there are hundreds of beautiful places to explore.  I only wish more places allowed pups . . . But I'll happily take what we can get because there's not a lot of things in life that beat a long, hard hike with your very best dog. 

It Starts in October

I love October.  It's the start of so many things--fall, the holidays, cold weather, decorations, crafts, comfort foods, warm drinks and festive parties.  We celebrated this October with a trip to the pumpkin patch (Bob's), pumpkin carving with friends, home-brewed hard cider and a night of dress up (aka Halloween).  This October was also: feathers, felt, duct tape, doggles, neon sunsets, hikes with Buckwheat, goats and piglets, foggy drives along the coast, leaves pooled under trees, jackets in the mornings, cool evening runs, funny scary movies, costumes based on movies, bowls of candy,  toasted pumpkin seeds and . . . All the things October should be! Yes, I love October.  And this one was pretty perfect.

To see some pumpkin patch photos from last year's trip to Bob's pumpkin patch ("pick 'em where they grow!") go here.

(photos 5-7 + 15-16 taken by C)